


Inebriated

by taehyungs



Category: GOT7
Genre: Comedy, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-29
Updated: 2014-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-27 01:08:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1709462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taehyungs/pseuds/taehyungs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What started out as a harmless game ended up being Mark's huge problem</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inebriated

**Author's Note:**

> warnings: unbeta'ed, pining, dumb misunderstandings, drunk college boys, cheese and minimal fluff  
> note: this is a college!au so basically everyone is of legal age. yes even yugyeom  
> crossposted on lj http://whalechild.livejournal.com/1257.html

++

 

"Don't be a pussy, just do it."

"Yeah it's not like you're gay or anything."

Right now, Mark's not entirely sure if that's true. Or if that's even a logical reason to do this. Jinyoung's staring back at him, eyes heavy with something dark instilled by the amount of alcohol Mark has witnessed him consume prior to this uncomfortable situation. He sort of wishes he'd saved himself the sober contemplation and chugged the venti-sized glass of beer Jackson had offered him a few minutes ago.

His heart is beating a little too fast for comfort and he thinks he's starting to feel today's breakfast rise in his stomach.

He's not drunk. He's not even a wee bit tipsy. He'd took it upon himself to stay sober because he's the oldest among their group of friends and honestly, he wanted to be thinking clearly if ever things waver away from innocent gathering to wild and horny mess of college boys with impeccably low self-control.

But things don't go easily as planned because right now, Jinyoung is frowning slightly. Is he getting impatient? He has nice lips, a moist and glistening sheen of alcohol beneath the fluorescent light. Mark licks his own lips unknowingly and tries to tune out the other guys' chanting that's more like slurring.

He curses his bad luck and indecisive disagreement when he'd allowed himself to be a part of this drinking game.

When he's about to lean in and get this over with, Jinyoung decides to pull back and pull himself up with minimal stability. Mark eyes him incredulously as he walks away and tosses the empty paper cup over his shoulder.

The door slams shut. And that's the last time Mark's seen Jinyoung.

++

"He's mad at me."

"Why would he be mad at you?"

"Because I didn't kiss him? Wait that’s absurd. Maybe because I was in the midst of trying to kiss him and he realized he didn't want to be kissed by me so he left."

Youngjae sends Mark an incredulous look before shifting his attention back to his history textbook.

Mark groans "Why else would he be ignoring me? That was the last time I saw him."

"You saw him yesterday at the library."

"That's right. And he completely avoided me."

"I'm pretty sure it was you who hid behind a pile of unsorted books as soon as you saw him." Youngjae deadpans.

Mark squints his eyes at his roommate until he's reduced to a blur. He groans into his sleeve. "Okay maybe I got nervous or something." He says, voice muffled by the thick fabric of his hoodie.

"He's probably just busy. You should be keeping yourself busy instead of pining over something that's probably not even an actual problem." Youngjae narrows his eyes at him as he deliberately slams his book shut.

"I'm not pining."

"Yes you are."

"Well can you blame me? One of my closest friends won't even talk to me anymore. Like, what's up with that?" Mark exclaims with extensive hand gestures, almost hitting Youngjae on the face.

Youngjae abruptly stands up "Just go and talk to him. You're the one who's making this difficult. Just go up and ask him why he walked out just before you guys were gonna suck faces."

Mark gives his friend a disgruntled look but he doesn't say anything. Or doesn't have the chance to because Youngjae's already turning away.

++

It's 6PM and Mark is standing idly outside Jinyoung and Jackson's shared room.

He calmly tells himself to be cool and ask if he can borrow Jackson's laboratory notes because he lost his. And then ask if he could talk to Jinyoung.

After much deliberation, he finally knocks and hears Jinyoung's muffled voice yell "Wait a sec."

He realizes it's been almost a week since he's heard Jinyoung's voice and it's sad really, because before that horrific night, they were pretty close. "Hey." He squeaks, as soon as Jinyoung opens the door.

He squeaked. Oh great.

Jinyoung briefly glances at the floor before looking up to meet his gaze. "Ah, Jackson's in the bathroom." There's a moment of silence between them when Mark's brain fails to register words he'd been rehearsing a few minutes ago. Jinyoung steps aside and urges him to come in, so he does.

"Actually-"

"I'm on my way out so just wait for Jackson to finish up." Jinyoung cuts him off before making a grab for his wallet and keys.

Mark is left speechless as he watches Jinyoung's retreating back.

"I thought I heard high pitched squealing." Jackson wryly says as soon as he steps out of the bathroom.

"Fuck my life."

"Let me guess, puberty?"

"No. Park Jinyoung."

"What's the difference?"

Mark whimpers into his best friend's Yu-Gi-Oh t-shirt and makes sure to give it a little crumple, to which Jackson responds with hey what the fuck I just ironed this.

"I didn't sign up to be your best friend just so I could listen to you whine about your dumbass problems."

"Then why?"

"Because you're a pushover and you have a PS4."

Mark crinkles his nose at this, fighting the urge to stab Jackson in the eye with one of his toy fencing swords. "We've been best friends for five years. I'd only gotten my PS4 a couple of months ago."

"Maybe for you it was five years."

"You're a piece of shit."

Mark and Jackson's friendship is fueled by a plethora of insults and thousands of hours spent on SAW marathons and games of CTR that usually end up with Mark deliberately losing for the sake of not having to deal with Jackson's demonic other half called I did not just fucking lose to you Mark Tuan this is an outrage.

Mark is fucking great at CTR.

"Back to me, please."

"Okay so does this mean you like Jinyoung or something?"

Mark wrinkles his face in mock disgust. "What? No!"

Jackson just raises an eyebrow.

"No."

"Really?"

Mark jabs his toe into Jackson's belly and relishes the way his best friend chortles uncontrollably on the floor "I'm not gay."

"That's what Jaebum said before he realized he was into that Youngjae guy."

Mark frowns at the other boy, unamused. "That's different. This is different."

"How is it different?"

"Because I don't like Jinyoung."

Mark almost punches himself when he sees Jackson's eyes widen as he gawks over Mark's shoulder.

"Jinyoung, that was...quick?"

What impeccable timing.

"I forgot my cellphone." Jinyoung mumbles before stowing away and disappearing behind the door.

Fuck. Mark fucked up.

++

"He hates me."

"He probably does."

"What am i gonna do?" Mark tugs on his beanie until it covers half of his face as he grumbles incessantly.

Youngjae attempts to comfort him by lightly patting him on the shoulder.

With a fork.

Bambam helps by consuming half of the mashed potatoes he'd been staring at for the past forty minutes, insisting that potatoes are blessings of nature and should not be wasted or eaten in vain beneath problems that are too prepubescent to even be considered as such. Yugyeom tells him to stick a sock in it.

"I think the only way to straighten things out is to actually have a conversation with him. You know, like how humans handle it?" Jaebum helpfully suggests, leaning into Youngjae much too close to be appropriate in public.

"He'll just avoid me like last time." Mark begrudgingly says into a straw.

"Then don't let him." Says Yugyeom. "Be persistent and firm. Hyung, you're too soft."

"I'm too...soft?" Mark inquires, eyebrows raised questionably.

"You know, like. You're too nice? You're always letting people get away with stuff. You keep letting Jackson win when you play CTR."

Mark's eyes widen before he remembers Jackson isn't present. He silently thanks the heavens at how contradicting their schedules are and he doesn’t have to worry about his stupid friends blurting out secrets like these in front of Jackson while he and the latter are simultaneously present. Noted, best friends aren’t supposed to keep things from each other but when it comes to Jackson’s aggressive tendencies regarding gaming, Mark doesn’t really have a choice.

"That's different. I purposely lose because I never want to face Jackson's wrath ever again."

"That's the thing. You're too afraid of the consequences. Life has consequences, hyung. You have to face them or else life is going to shit on you and use your favorite Comme des Garcons shirt to wipe its ass."

"That last part wasn't necessary."

"Talk to him."

++

Mark does attempt to talk to Jinyoung. Seven times.

The first time is Monday when Mark corners Jinyoung on his way to Econ and asks if they could talk. Jinyoung tells him maybe some other time because he's going to be late.

It's Tuesday night when he tries again, a bag of Jinyoung's favorite pork rinds in hand which Mark initially thought was disgusting until he took his first bite and marveled at the crunchiness. It had been a good plan until Jinyoung tells him sorry, that he's heading to his thesis partner's dorm and might stay the night.

The next few times are a mix of obvious excuses and awkward eye contact. And consequently, failure on Mark's side.

He resorts to texting when he decides he's desperate enough. He really hates texting.

\--

jinyoung

whos this?

mark????

oh

u dont have my number???

srry my contacts got wiped out

oh

\--

It wasn't worth it.

He just wants his friend back. Is that really too much to ask?

So that's when Mark decides it's enough. All this running away and chickening out has gone too far. He glares angrily at Jinyoung and Jackson's door before resorting to violence a.k.a obnoxious knocking.

Jinyoung's eyes are wide as soon as he opens the door. "Jackson's not-"

"I'm not here for Jackson." He blurts out. "We need to talk."

Jinyoung blinks a few times before stepping aside to let Mark in.

"What's this about?"

"Why are you avoiding me?" Mark doesn't know how he'd managed to gather this much courage but he's starting to regret eating that burrito before sprinting to the fifth floor of Jinyoung's building. He probably should have taken the elevator.

"What? I wasn't-"

"Are you mad because of that night?"

Jinyoung looks genuinely confused and Mark is almost offended because he'd spent almost two weeks wondering what the hell was going on with this guy but right now it seems Jinyoung has never even had a thought about it. About him.

Mark suddenly finds floorboards interesting as he figures what he's doing is absurd.

"Oh." Mark hears Jinyoung say, his face masking sudden realization. "I don't really remember much of what happened." He rubs the back of his neck. "If I did anything terrible to you, I'm sorry."

Maybe Mark is a little bit angry right now. More at himself than anyone in this room. He let himself worry over nothing. Jinyoung doesn't even remember. What's there to remember anyway? Nothing happened.

"No. You didn't do anything." Mark sighs.

"Sorry if it seemed like I was avoiding you. I was just, busy."

"It's okay." He pulls out a small smile and attempts to ease the tension. “I’m sorry too. About what you heard. The thing I told Jackson.”

Jinyoung looks up at him, quiet and possibly on guard. “It’s okay.”

“I didn’t mean it. I like you, but just- Not in that way? I don’t know. I mean, if I did then that would be a burden to you because you obviously don’t like me that way either.” Mark stammers.

“Right. It’s fine. I get it. No harm done.”

++

He seldom sees Jinyoung. He figures it's because college is rough and the guy must be busy. He realizes he probably should be burrying his face in huge blocks of text as well but he'd much rather bury his face in Jackson's greasy hair.

He thinks it's gotten worse after that pleasant conversation he had with Jinyoung. It's rare enough to even see a sliver of Jinyoung's skin around campus and now there's this unsettling feeling in Mark's stomach.

"It's probably the mashed potato." Bambam tells him. "I had diarrhea for two days after I ate yours."

"That would have been very helpful information if you'd said something earlier." Youngjae glares at the younger boy as he rubs soothing circles on Mark's back. This time with his hand.

It doesn't really help because his stomach is not on his back and he realizes there's a weird clenching feeling right on his chest area where his heart is.

++

"You miss him."

"That's incorrect. Like extremely." Mark defensively says before setting his cellphone on the table.

"You were staring at his name on your contacts for at least six minutes now." Youngjae rolls his eyes.

Mark childishly sticks his tongue out at his roommate who mimics him in response. They end up laughing like pre-teen girls for two minutes.

The two of them eventually calm down and Youngjae resumes poking at his kimchi. Silence ensues until Mark drags his chair backwards with a loud creaking sound that has Youngjae flinching.

"Maybe yeah. Maybe. Yeah..."

"What are you going on about?"

"Maybe I do miss him?"

"Thanks for realizing."

Mark grabs his phone and pensively gapes at Jinyoung's name. After much contemplation, he jabs his finger onto the call button and presses his lips into a thin line. Youngjae watches him from across the table with an amused smirk.

/ "Hello?"

"Hey. Jinyoung. It's Mark. You saved my number already right? Yeah. Well."

/ "Yeah I did. What's up?"

"I was just wondering. Are you busy Friday?"

There's a brief pause before Jinyoung makes an exhaling sound. Mark imagines him puffing his cheeks and letting out a huge breath. He almost smiles at the thought.

/"It's my day off."

Mark doesn't know how he'd managed to muster up the confidence to ask Jinyoung if they could hang out like old times but it's a little too late to back down when Jinyoung’s standing out on the hallway, nose crinkled at his own nonexistent punctuality.

"Five minutes huh?" Mark chides, but there’s no bite to it.

“Sorry, I couldn’t find any clean socks.”

“Gross.”

Jinyoung lets out a soft chuckle, drawing pronounced crinkles on the side of his eyes. It's been a while since Mark's seen it and he hadn't realized how much he missed seeing it until two seconds ago. He remembers this vaguely, but he thinks there was a time when he'd reached out and traced the lines on Jinyoung's skin and teased him about it ("You forgot to iron your face."). He'd forgotten what the other boy said but that's because it probably didn't happen and his brain must have made it up. Maybe he tried too hard to resist the urge to actually reach up and maybe he kinda regrets that.

He's pulled out of his reverie when Jinyoung gently tugs on his bangs and pinches his nose before slipping inside the room. "You looked so serious just now." Jinyoung says, a small smile splayed on his lips. "Are you worried I'll beat your ass on CTR?"

Mark cracks out a tiny grin. "I don’t worry about blonde girls wearing denim jumpsuits."

"Excuse you, Coco Bandicoot is a babe and she rocks that denim jumpsuit more than you'll ever rock that ginger dye." He narrows his eyes at Mark comically. “And F.Y.I, there’s only one blonde girl in a denim jumpsuit.”

When Coco Bandicoot loses to Dr. Neo Cortex for the seventeenth time in a row, Jinyoung curses denim jumpsuits and possibly blonde girls to oblivion.

"I guess Ms. Coco just wasn't made for racing." Mark offers the other boy a pat on the back before setting down his controller.

"At least she's still hot." Jinyoung whimpers into the CTR CD case as he painstakingly returns the CD and snaps the case shut.

And then it's silent. Not exactly the awkward kind, but the kind that makes Mark expectant of what's going to happen next. He's a little anxious to say the least. He feels like he should say something and make this night significant because Jinyoung used to be someone so close to him but now everything feels off. And even though it seems like everything's back to normal, he still feels wrong. It's like Jinyoung is still miles away from him even when they're sitting across one another. He wants to fix it, but he has no idea how to start.

He notices Jinyoung is giving him a tentative look, like he's expecting something from Mark as well. What's he supposed to say?

“I almost forgot. I have a paper due Monday.” Jinyoung suddenly says. Mark can’t help the lurching sensation in his stomach when he figures Jinyoung’s trying to avoid a potential confrontation again. He guesses it’s Jinyoung’s initial feat once he realizes Mark isn’t gonna say anything of importance. Or at all.

“Oh. Okay, go ahead. I’ll see you at Jaebum’s party I guess.” Mark remembers Jaebum’s invitation the day before and figures Jinyoung would have gotten it as well.

“Oh. Right. JB’s party. I’m not sure if I can make it.”

“Okay. Whatever.”

++

One night later Mark finds himself placed in a very familiar situation wherein Bambam’s dragging him to a circle of friends and acquaintances, a giant cup of beer etched in his hand and a prominent shade of pink lipstick imprinted on his cheek. He’d always been excellent at milking his baby face for what it’s worth and Mark wonders just how much it’s worth because a bunch of girls (and boys) immediately pay attention to the younger boy as soon as they arrive at the table.

“It’s beer bong, hyung. No one’s going to murder anyone.” Yugyeom tells him.

He anxiously searches for Jackson among the group and is-as expected-disappointed with his best friend’s absence. He’s probably already on top of a coffee table, flailing around like a lunatic when Mark is terrified and miserable and being ganged up by little punks in questionable leather jackets. (“Bambam, Danny Zuko called. He’s asking for his jacket back.”)

After moments of contemplation and wrestling with the fact that Mark Tuan and alcoholic beverages don’t really mix well, Mark loses to himself and decides he doesn’t really have anything to worry about because he’s sure the current bane of his existence won’t be able to make it to the party anyway. No need for precautionary measures.

“Okay, how do I do this?”

It turns out consuming a gallon of beer through a tube isn’t all that bad. The blaring chorus of his name being repeatedly chanted was enough motivation to keep him going and he thinks he might cry tears of beer later but he doesn’t care because that was one of the craziest things he’s ever done and trust church boy slash boy scout Mark to consistently stray from anything remotely crazy.

His head starts to feel a bit heavy the next couple of minutes and wonders if Youngjae had always looked like a giant blob.

He rubs his eyes insistently and squints into the distance, jaw almost dropping at the sudden realization that the giant blob he’d been staring at wasn’t Youngjae, but Jinyoung. Fucking Park Jinyoung.

“Mark? Are you…drunk?” Jinyoung asks with an eyebrow raised.

How dare he ask Mark that question like it’s totally unorthodox and so un-Mark that he’s highly intoxicated on a Saturday night-No Sunday morning.

Mark raises his cup and tilts his head upwards, slipping his tongue out like he’s trying to catch a snowflake with it before realizing the cup is totally empty (But not realizing he would be soaking wet if it weren’t).

“Are you crazy? Me? Drunk?” He ends up slurring. Jinyoung watches him shove the empty cup into a plant and almost dive face-first into a debatably fluffy welcome mat by the door.

“Where’s Jackson?” Jinyoung worriedly asks, promptly lunging forward to catch mark by the shoulders.

“Probably drunk.” He replies, punctuated by a soft hybrid of a chuckle and a snort. He quickly wriggles away from the other boy and sends him a pointed glare that says Don’t Touch Me. Both Jinyoung’s eyebrows raise in unison with his hands.

Mark’s not sure but he thinks Jinyoung is shaking his head at him. Fuck Jinyoung. He said he wasn’t coming. Why is he ruining Mark’s fun? Why is he being a shit head? Why is he the sober one?

Oh how the tables have turned.

“Go away.” Mark spits out. “Why are you even here?”

“Because I managed to finish my paper earlier than expected.” Jinyoung dryly replies.

Jinyoung has always been the most concerned about his education among their group of friends even though it doesn’t seem like it at a glance. Mark thinks that’s really admirable but he wouldn’t dare admit it especially when he’s a drunken mess.

“Maybe I should take you back to your dorm.” Jinyoung says, cautiously making his way closer to Mark.

“That’s not your job..” Mark blurts out, persistently dodging Jinyoung’s hands with surprisingly good agility despite his current condition.

Jinyoung looks slightly taken aback but it doesn’t stop him from trying to steady Mark and dragging him outside. “Fresh air is what you need.”

Mark wants to struggle but honestly, he’s tired and he’s seconds away from vomiting. He staggers outside and crouches by the sidewalk, letting himself puke onto the wheels of someone’s BMW. He’ll feel sorry about that tomorrow. If he remembers.

He feels something warm on the small of his back rubbing soothing circles and he’d brush it away but it feels good. Jinyoung’s hand feels good.

“Ever wonder what it would’ve been like?” Mark mutters, tugging on his shoelaces as he glances up at the night sky. There aren’t any stars, and somehow that makes him sad.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Jinyoung stays quiet. Even though the music from inside the house is blaring loud enough to disrupt the whole neighborhood, the only thing Mark hears is the silence sitting heavy on his shoulders coalesced with intemperance.

Mark comes to grasp that he doesn’t like silence between the two of them. He likes their obnoxious banters and endless taunting. He likes the way Jinyoung would laugh at his misfortunes and how he’d do the same for the latter. He wants their friendship back but it’s like the light at the end of this tunnel insists on moving further away from him.

“I don’t like you.” Mark slurs, grabbing a fistful of of Jinyoung’s sweatshirt. (Did he just come to a party in his sweatshirt?) “I don’t like you that way. Please stop this and go back to being my friend.”

“That’s a bit unfortunate, though.” Jinyoung says, fondly pushing back Mark’s bangs off his face. “Because I’ve liked you that way for quite a long time now.”

“You’re a liar.” Mark tells the other boy through a scowl. “Why are you lying to me?” He feels a sob clambering on his throat. Or possibly a potentially vomit-induced release.

“I am a liar. I’ve been telling myself that I’m okay with this.” Jinyoung lets out a throaty chuckle.

“I hate you.” Mark gripes into Jinyoung’s sleeve. And the last thing he hears before passing out is Jinyoung muttering a soft “Sorry. It’s all my fault.”

++

Mark wakes up with an intense migraine. He takes in his surroundings and sees he’s in his own bed. There’s a glass of water by his desk accompanied by a tablet for his hangover. He silently thanks Youngjae as he drops the tablet into the water and watches its effervescence rise to the surface.

He sits languidly on his bed and urges himself to remember last night’s events.

Clearly the previous night wasn’t permeated with intelligent decisions as he imagines invisible drills careening into his head.

That’s when it hits him. He’s sure he’d seen Jinyoung but his memory betrays him when he tries to recall whatever pleasant (or not so) conversation they might have had.

“Oh, look who’s up.”

“Youngjae, my angel my savior my buddy.”

“I’m leaving, bye.”

“Come back.”

Youngjae pokes his head out. “By the way, don’t forget to thank Jinyoung for lugging your ass back here.” He says informingly.

++

“He told you he likes you?” Jackson repeats.

“Yes. I think. Yes.”

Jackson chucks a pillow at Mark’s face. “Stop being a confusing freak.” He frowns. “What did you say?”

“I’m pretty sure I said something about not liking him that way before he even confessed so I don’t-“

“You what?”

“I said-“

“Mark Tuan you’re probably the stupidest piece of shit I have ever had the misfortune to befriend.” Jackson groans as Mark skeptically gawks at his best friend. “You’ve spent weeks wondering what the heck was going on with Jinyoung and even went as far as to actually using your cellphone to communicate with another human being. Yugyeom told me you sat through lunch, staring at your mashed potatoes three days in a row which only happened once, when your grandma died. Do the math, chuckface.”

This-Mark realizes-is possibly the closest thing he’ll ever come to a defining moment of his life. He comes to understand that Jackson is right that he is stupid and he can’t believe he’s been so oblivious of his own feelings all this time and disregarded Jinyoung’s.

“Oh.” He croaks. “Oh.”

“There you go.”

Mark doesn’t know how he could possibly survive without his best friend and right now he could kiss Jackson for being so great.

“Jackson Wang, I could kiss you right now.”

“Ugh. Please don’t.”

++

It’s a Friday and Mark knows it’s Jinyoung’s day off so he resorts to exercising his texting abilities once again.

hey jerk we need to talk. meet me at the quad 9pm sharp

When Jinyoung arrives at the desolate quad, there’s a look of relief on his face. “I’m actually glad you asked to meet because about the other night-“

“I’m going to be the one doing all the talking first.” Mark interrupts him. He sighs at Jinyoung’s oppressed reaction. “If you really don’t remember what happened that night-Let me refresh your memory.”

“You don’t have to-“

“We were playing a game and the two of us were told to kiss. I kept going through it in my head and contemplated whether I should do it or not because, it wasn’t just anyone. It was you. I couldn’t just kiss you off a dare. I couldn’t kiss you when you were so intoxicated. I couldn’t kiss you when I wasn’t even sure of my feelings. I was almost gonna do it though, despite being so unsure.”

Jinyoung stays silent.

“And then you just left. Like you were angry about something. I couldn’t stop wondering about it afterwards. I started thinking you were ignoring me. I couldn’t handle it. I missed you so much.”

“I remember. That night.” Jinyoung finally speaks. “Thank you for telling me all that. But I think you deserve to know the truth. Why I walked out that night.”

Mark is taken aback for a brief moment because he hadn’t expected Jinyoung to say anything.

“Honestly-“ Jinyoung laughs softly, tilting his head down to face the ground. “I was angry at myself because I had the opportunity to kiss you and I was downright hammered. It wasn’t exactly as romantic as I’d planned our first kiss to be.”

Mark can’t help the heat creeping up his face and he worries it might infuse a tinge of red on his cheeks. “Oh.” He stammers.

“I might have avoided you after that and made a bunch of excuses to avoid confrontation. I’m sorry.” Jinyoung confesses. “I like you so much.”

Mark takes a tentative step forward and notes the way Jinyoung’s eyes marginally widen. “It’s okay.” He makes a grab for Jinyoung’s hand and the warmth sends shivers all over his body. “It might have taken me a lot longer to realize it but, I like you too.”

The crinkles that appear by Jinyoung’s eyes are probably one of the most beautiful things Mark’s ever seen. Tonight he doesn’t resist the urge to reach out and run the pads of his fingers gingerly on them. “You forgot to iron your face.” He self-indulges. Jinyoung laughs wholeheartedly in response and pulls him in for a tight embrace.

“Dweeb.”

“This is a pretty romantic setting right here.” Mark helpfully points out as he pulls away. “What about that kiss?”

When their lips meet for the first time, it’s not necessarily fireworks and butterflies in Mark’s stomach. He thinks it’s more like finally being able to breathe. For the first time in a while, he’s sure of something. And that something is Jinyoung who’s holding him so close like his life depended on it, like Jinyoung is sure of him too.

They stay like this for a little while, arms draped around each other and lips melding together like puzzle pieces waiting to be solved.

There are no stars in the sky tonight, but all Mark really cares about is the one that shines brilliantly right in front of him.

++

BONUS

Yugyeom-Mark realizes-has a big fucking mouth.

“You’re a sucky best friend. After imposing my wisdom on you so you could fix your stupid love life? I find out you’ve been betraying me all along.”

“I’m sorry! I just, I didn’t want to see you lose.”

“Oh? Oh you didn’t want me to lose? Do you really underestimate me that much?”

“Jackson plea-“

“I challenge you to a duel. You and me, Neo Cortex versus Komodo Joe what do you say?”

Jackson loses eighteen times in a row that night and he-along with Jinyoung-officially give up on life and finally makes peace with the fact that Mark Tuan is the king of Crash Team Racing.

“Okay. I give up. Your boyfriend is amazing at CTR.” Jackson tells Jinyoung. Mark feels his stomach lurch at the word boyfriend.

Or maybe it’s the mashed potatoes.

++

 

a/n oh god i'm literally a thousand times sorry for this piece of trash srsly why do i even bother  
ty to fabrizio for keeping me sane while writing this ty ily kiddo  
bye i'm done i'm tear drops done  
p.s if you don't know what crash team racing is i will judge you for the rest of your life


End file.
